


Diamonds Aren't Forever

by unholyminter (oneswhonever)



Category: The Ultimate Sidemen
Genre: Alternate Universe, Angst, Cancer, Cheating, Hospitalization, M/M, Marriage Proposal, Men Crying, Protectiveness, Sick Character, a fuck ton of swearing and f bombs in particular
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-04-18
Updated: 2017-06-28
Packaged: 2018-10-20 11:05:15
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,053
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10661274
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/oneswhonever/pseuds/unholyminter
Summary: Turns out, Vik's worries don't end at paying for rent and groceries. Nor do they end at the loss of his annoying roommate. Honestly - where do they end?





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

  * For [sleepystar123](https://archiveofourown.org/users/sleepystar123/gifts).



> For the person I call my best friend, sleepystar123. This is the third work I've given to her, but she has waged war following the first part of an agonizing Minizerk fic. So I've decided to hit her weak spot. 
> 
> Vikklan!
> 
> It'll get progressively more angsty - I PROMISE.

This whole mess was Simon's fault, really.

They were running late; what else was new? Simon couldn't get off the phone long enough to even get out the door - why he was talking to Josh when they each other in ten minutes was far beyond Vik. Leave it to his love stricken roommate, he supposed. He would cut him some slack in light of his friend's recent engagement. He could hardly be torn away from his fiancee. 

Which was the reason the whole flat was littered with cardboard boxes. Within the month, Simon would be moving out and leaving Vik to his own devices. They had lived together since the move to London, so having to adjust to life without someone nagging him every five minutes was going to be a struggle. All sarcasm aside, however, Vik didn't care for the idea of living alone. Separation anxiety had plagued him since he was a child, and Simon being a consistent nuisance in his life was actually keeping him afloat all these years.

He didn't know how to cope with living alone. He feared for all the hours he would end up having to work just to pay for his rent. Forget ever going on dates - he'd hardly even be able to pay for his own groceries. College would have to wait as well. He had been planning starting his post secondary education within the year, but now he could forget about it. Simon was leaving him behind, ready to become Simon Bradley and marry into wealth.

Vik felt like a bad friend, seeing as he couldn't be happy for Simon. When his best mate announced his engagement, he was off the walls with excitement - bouncing all over the apartment. Even then, Vik just sulked. He was glad that Simon was happy and all, but at the end of the day, Simon already had everything. He didn't need this, too.

Speak of the devil...

Simon swaggered into the room, all dressed up in a button down shirt and tight black jeans (who he had to impress, Vik was unsure). "Hey, do you reckon I look alright?"

"You've already got the ring, Simon," replied Vik, trying to keep the bluntness out of his voice as he scooped up his car keys, ushering Simon towards the door. "You look fine. Now, can we please hurry up? Lachlan's already there and I bet Josh is, too."

"What's the rush? Those lot get on just fine," said Simon, but skipped out the door either way, heading down the hall towards the lift. Vik shot him an icy glare, daggers burning into the back of Simon's skull. If looks could kill, Simon would have been dead ages ago. Best friend or not, Simon could be incredulously aggravating when he wanted to be. "Josh is there. He and Lachlan ordered our drinks already."

Vik sighed as he stepped into the lift, hitting the button for the ground floor. "I hope Josh is good at time management, Simon. Otherwise you're in for a hell of a time?"

Simon grinned, leaving on the mirrored wall of the lift. "Do you think I can't survive without you, Vik? I'm not  _that_ dependent."

Vik stomach twisted up into a thousand knots, and he sat in silence until they reached the lobby of the building, at which point he and Simon headed for the parking lot. Good thing the restaurant was only a few minutes away - Vik would drive his car straight off a cliff if there was one in the vicinity. Not that Simon intended for it, but his remark made Vik feel impossibly shittier about the days to come. 

He just hoped Simon wouldn't have the audacity to ask him to help pack. He may just lose it, otherwise.

 

***

 

Sure enough, Lachlan and Josh were already seated and sharing an appetizer when Vik and Simon arrived at the restaurant. The two were laughing with one another, which further soured Vik's mood. Clearly they were having a good time all on their own.

The second Simon spotted Josh, he damn near ran across the room to slide into the seat next to him, Vik lagging behind by several feet. He always found it comical, watching someone as tall and lanky as Simon try and curl up into Josh. It remained true, over the many years that they had know each other, that Simon retained a childlike nature. Sometimes it was frustrating, admittedly, but most of the time Vik found it endearing. 

Maybe he was happy for Simon, after all.

"Hey!" called out Lachlan, a chip dangling from his slender fingers. God, he was losing a lot of weight. He looked so sullen and pale recently, but Vik chalked it up to the London weather. Having been from sunny Australia, Lachlan lost his golden complexion within even a few months of moving to the UK. He had also been less cheerful, Vik had noted. He traveled so far to be with Vik in person, but now that he was here, he never seemed quite as happy, and Vik felt horrible about it. "Come sit down, hun."

In spite of being sullen and tired all the time, Lachlan's voice and his overall demeanor was still smooth as ever. No matter what he looked like or how he acted, he was still golden. Lachlan was easily the most beautiful person Vik had ever seen in his life. 

He hoped he wouldn't have to lose him. He hoped Lachlan wouldn't decide he hated London and go back home. The last thing Vik needed was for his best friend  _and_ his boyfriend to leave him in the dust. 

He tried to wipe the frown off his face as he happily slid into the booth next to Lachlan - who promptly cupped his cheeks and drew him in for a tender, gentle kiss. Naturally, all the moments like these were enough to make Vik melt inside. He would never be able to comprehend how he got a man such as Lachlan in his life. He couldn't call it luck - Vik was the farthest thing from lucky that you could ever be.

"Hey," he greeted softly, gently pushing back fallen fridge from Lachlan's face. Everyday he was looking more and more disheveled, yet he couldn't be more gorgeous. "How're you?"

Lachlan chuckled lowly, wrapping an arm around Vik's shoulders and pushing the basket of chips towards him. "M'just fine, love."

"Saps," crowed Simon, from the other side of the booth. He had yet to remove himself from Josh's arms - but knowing the two of them, they'd be attached all night. "Get a room."

Lachlan grinned, chucking a chip in Simon's direction. "Stuff it. You lovebirds are no better."

Suddenly, Vik felt better about the evening. Due to their tardiness, and the way Simon had been acting leading up to dinner, Vik had previously felt as though the night would end up being disastrous. As long as Lachlan was unbothered by everything, however, he couldn't care less. He certainly had more patience than Vik.

As it turned out, Josh and Lachlan had placed orders for everyone whilst Simon and Vik were on the way - they came to this particular joint quite often, so naturally they had memorized what their boyfriends ordered every time. Their food was delivered promptly, and the conversation sort of fizzled out from there. Josh or Simon would crack a joke every now and then, or get engaged in a story, but conversation was pretty dry besides that. No one really seemed to mind - they all knew each other inside and out, anyhow.

Just as Lachlan finished up his steak (medium rare, as per normal), he turned to Vik with a shit-eating grin on his face. "So, I've been thinking."

A knot of dread formed in Vik's stomach, but before he could speak, Simon did, "Uh oh. That's always dangerous."

Vik knew he was teasing, but there was an impending feeling of dread weighing heavily in his mind. Surely Lachlan would have the decency to break up with him and private - not in front of their (engaged) friends.

"Listen," continued Lachlan, slipping out of the booth (he and Vik had switched sides; he knew Vik liked the seats by the window). Vik's heart was really pounding now as he prepared himself for Lachlan's dramatic exit from the establishment. He's glad Lachlan chose to ignore Simon's comment, however. "Vik, from the moment I met you, I always had this feeling that our lives were gonna change. And they really have. I've only been here three months now, but...things are so different. More so than I ever expected."

Even Josh and Simon looked alarmed at this rate, and Vik could hear the blood rushing in his ears. This was it. He had put all his faith into one stupid, stupid man - had been in love for the very first time, and this is how the universe decided to repay him? By taking it away?

"Lachlan," Vik murmured anxiously, keeping his voice low as to not attract any attention from the surrounding booths. "Please don't do this. Not here."

To his utter surprise, Lachlan laughed - which was really just adding insult to injury at this point. He had to wonder where Lachlan got off on all of this. How he was so okay with laughing as Vik's entire life fell apart in front of his eyes. Relationships aren't a matter of life or death, but it sure did fucking hurt to get your heart smashed by the _one_  person you thought you could count on (since announcing his move, Simon was removed from that equation).

"Vik," said Lachlan gently, having the audacity to rest a hand on Vik's trembling leg. "We've only just begun our physical relationship, but I have been in love with you ever since we met. Two years is a long ass time to be in an online relationship. And things are so much different now that we're here and that we're together."

It seemed as though the room were getting hotter and hotter - Vik was developing a cold sweat as he stared into the diamond eyes of the man he loved. How could Lachlan do this to him? After everything they had been through together, he was okay with throwing away two years like it was absolute fucking nothing?

And why did Josh and Simon look so fucking happy about it?

"Vikram Barn..."

_Fuck. Fuck. Fuck. God no. Please no._

"...Would you do me the absolute honor of marrying me?"


	2. Chapter 2

Vik's peaceful slumber was harshly interrupted by the sound of puking coming from the bathroom. Mostly, he was just annoyed - certain that it was Simon, awake with a hangover. He knew that, within time, Simon would be calling out for him to bring him painkillers and water, so he figured he had better get a head start. Forcing his eyes open, ignoring the lingering sleepy tears, he casually dropped out of bed and onto the floor - promptly throwing a blanket over his body upon realization that he was totally missing clothes. 

Oh,  _right._

With memories of the engagement flooding into his mind, Vik smiled. He also cringed, thinking that Simon and Josh  _totally_ heard all the sex sounds. Simon teased him a  _lot_ about how noisy he could get. Not that he was any better - he and Josh had  _zero_ shame when it came to that kind of thing. He knew that, if it weren't for the throwing up that was currently happening, Simon would probably be in his room at that very second, harassing him half to death. 

Vik rose from the floor, and peered over at the bed, heart dropping to his stomach when he realized that Lachlan wasn't there. Vik was sure they had fallen asleep next to each other right after. They always did. Before he could worry too much, it clicked in his head that Lachlan was probably already awake; he was the earliest riser of anyone Vik knew (which, in his opinion, was ungodly). Quickly, he picked out a pair of sweats and a hoodie that undoubtedly belonged to his boyfriend (fiance, actually, he recalled fondly), and escaped into the hallway - bumping directly into Josh, who was leaning against the bathroom door. 

"Morning," greeted the older lad casually - as casually as he could, considering the hickeys that covered his neck and bare chest. Vik could swear he even had scratches on him, but that was all typical; Simon was always mauling him. Vik arched an eyebrow, making gestures for Josh to indicate  _why_ he was just standing in the hall, and not in the bathroom taking care of Simon. "Oh. Right. Uh, Lachlan's been getting pretty sick. Simon is in there with him right now. It doesn't sound like he's doing too good."

Vik's eyebrows furrowed together, and his arms instinctively crossed over his chest. "He didn't drink at all, though."

"Food poisoning?"

Vik shook his head before pushing Josh out of the way, and rapping softly against the door. Not a second later, there was a loud retch from inside. Vik winced as the sounds of vomiting just got progressively worse. 

"Josh, I said go away," called Simon from inside the bathroom, voice loud over the retching. "I told you he doesn't want anyone else in here."

"It's me," Vik replied, leaning against the door with his head pressed against it. There was some shuffling from inside, before an exhausted looking Simon came to the door and opened it - causing Vik to nearly topple over. Instead, he shouldered past Simon, and inside. There, he knelt down beside Lachlan (whose throwing up seemed to cease for the time being) and placed a careful hand on the very small of his back. The taller lad tensed under the touch. "Hey, what's going on? You feeling okay?"

A shiver rippled through Lachlan's body, in spite of the fact that his skin was red and burning hot with a fever. "No. Not at all. I feel like I've been poisoned."

Vik frowned, moving a hand up to brush Lachlan's hair out of his face. Upon contact, however, he withdrew. Not only was he sweaty, but he was also running a fierce fever. In their time of dating, Lachlan had never once been sick - in fact, he was healthy as he could be, in peak physical condition. Vik wasn't sure of how to help him. Having known Simon for so long, he knew the ins and outs of caring for him when he was ill, which was nearly every week, but this was a different circumstance. 

"Maybe we should run you a bath, hun," Vik suggested, keeping his voice quite low. Lachlan let out a raspy groan, surely in protest. "I know, but you're hot. It'll help take down the fever, relax the muscles..."

Lachlan groaned, his face pressed against cool porcelain as shivers racked his body. "Fine. Can you like, go, though? I'm gonna throw up again and that's not something you need to watch."

Vik shook his head, but got to his feet either way. He rubbed Lachlan's back once more before exiting the bathroom and shutting the door beside him. Once the door was latched, the sounds of retching followed him out the door. He sighed, exasperated already, and made way for the kitchen. There, he found Simon perched on top of a counter, cradling a mug (the scent of cinnamon tea was strong, but hell if it didn't clear the sinuses). Josh was sitting on the counter beside him, an arm wrapped around his shoulders. They looked like an old married couple. 

"Have you made extra?" Vik asked, progressing further into the room and reaching into the fridge for some juice. Simon looked at him, his expression at least moderately solemn, which was odd. Josh's face mirrored this very look. "What are ya looking at?"

Simon bit his lip, setting his mug down on the counter and jumping off the counter, swift as a cat. "Hey, this is going to sound weird but...when you were in there, did you, you know, look?"

Vik frowned, his face scrunching in disgust. "Simon, ew."

"No, no," Simon protested instantly, his own face scrunched. Still, it looked as though there were a pained look in his eyes. "I promise I'm not just  _looking_ at his vomit. Hell, I almost got sick being in there with him. But like, he thought he was just - I don't know, losing it? So, I looked and...there was blood in it. Not a lot! Don't freak, it's probably just bronchitis or something."

Vik frowned. The causes for blood in vomit weren't necessarily limited, but it could be a number of different things - chest and respiratory problems, liver disease, ulcers, cancer. None of which were particularly ideal.

"Wouldn't be throwing up if it were bronchitis," Vik said, his heart pounding particularly hard in his chest. "I don't know, Simon. I'm gonna run him a bath, see if he feels any better afterwards. If not, hospital it is."

Simon nodded his head, a meek smile on his expression as he waved Vik off, climbing back up on top of the counter. Vik swiped a mug and filled it before bounding back to the bathroom. He was met with silence upon approaching, save for some coughing - typical, he figured, after throwing up. He swung the door open, and Lachlan was now sitting up against the bathtub, pressing a white hand towel over his mouth.

Vik frowned, setting the mug on the sink counter before proceeding to sit down next to him. "Hey, you alright? If you're gonna be sick again, just let me know, okay?"

Lachlan nodded, albeit a little absently. Vik sighed and got onto his knees, scooting over enough so that he could reach the head of the bath. He put the plug in the drain, before running the water. He knew Lachlan liked hot  _everything._ Cold was bad - cold weather, cold food, cold showers. That was probably why he didn't care for London. However, Vik knew better than to run him a hot bath while he was sporting a grossly high-feeling fever. He set it at the middle of the road instead, knowing that Lachlan would prefer it. 

He turned to his fiance, who was still holding the towel over his mouth, dry sounding coughs escaping every so often. Vik still figured that it was due to the vomiting. "Hey, wanna get those clothes off? They'll get drenched if you wear them in the bath."

Despite trying to lighten up the mood with jokes, Lachlan was unresponsive. Vik sighed and decided to take the initiative. He moved back over to Lachlan, but before even attempting to remove his shirt, took away the towel from his clammy hands. 

And promptly recoiled in horror when he discovered it was bloody, and Lachlan's lips were stained a more vibrant red. 

"Lachlan," he murmured lowly, handing it back to him carefully. He didn't want him coughing up blood all over himself, after all. "Baby, how are you feeling? Does your chest hurt, your stomach...?"

Lachlan groaned, and it came out dry and raspy, already sounding hoarse. He sounded even worse than before. "My chest, Vik, fuck...my ribs. I don't even think...I don't think I actually felt sick this morning? I don't know. When I was throwing up it was just... _pain._ Shit..."

Vik rubbed his arm gently, wrapping his arms around his taller counterpart. "Hey, it's okay. Do you know how long this has been going on? How long you've felt this way...maybe we should go to the hospital?"

"No," Lachlan replied immediately. He promptly raised the cloth to his mouth as though he felt a cough coming, and Vik cringed, but it was lowered within a moment. He breathed deeply, and for the first time, Vik was paying attention to said breathing. It sounded as though there were a rattling in his chest, and it was worrisome, to say the least. "Are you kidding me, Vik? I can't afford that."

Vik groaned loudly, pinching the bridge of his nose in annoyance. Prior to dating Josh, Simon landed himself in the hospital with a burst appendix a few years prior, all because he was ignoring his symptoms. The appendectomy hadn't been cheap, but if they had avoided going into the emergency room when they had, the doctors confirmed that Simon would have died that night from the poison of his inflamed organ. Plus, the hospital had given Simon a hardy adjustment to the bill and set up a generous payment plan, making it actually payable. 

Granted, the rough thousand that was left from the surgery was payed off when Josh and Simon had begun dating. Turns out, Josh's father actually _owned_ the hospital. From that moment on, it was only right that Vik referred to Josh as Simon's sugar daddy. 

"Well, I can't really afford to lose you," was Vik's reply, cross. Lachlan was silent, but he leaned over and rested his head on Vik's shoulder - which was quite the drop considering the height difference. "If something is wrong, we have to know about it, don't you think so?"

Lachlan nodded mutely, and that was that. 


	3. Chapter 3

The whole thing was just a huge slap in the face. Hearing about a sick loved one was, in Vik's opinion, worse than even being sick yourself. A lot of the people that Vik knew would never understand the feeling of loving someone so much that you would rather  _die_ than ever see them in pain. No exaggeration, Vik would take all of Lachlan's pain away in a heartbeat, if he could. 

"I'm afraid no news is good news," was the doctor's bleak outlook, and for a moment, Vik's heart collapsed to the very pit of his stomach. He wanted to get up, cross the room, and hug Lachlan - but his legs were the equivalent of wet noodles and his knees buckled when he tried to stand. He hadn't been nervous until that moment, certain that everything would be okay. As time went on, he wasn't so sure. "You're in stage three of bronchogenic carcinoma."

Vik's eyebrows furrowed together, but it was Lachlan who asked for clarification - his voice deadpan. "You speak English at all, doc?"

Doctor Marten was recommended to them by Josh, who claimed that he was one of the best doctors in the whole of the hospital. He had been Josh's doctor since he was sixteen years old, and was very cutthroat when it came to his work - he never beat around the bush, and would actually listen to a patient's concerns. He was a middle aged man with graying hairs, and an oddly calming face. His eyes were always soft, as though he were always sympathetic. 

Vik was beginning to understand why this was. 

"Of course, my apologies," said Marten, one hand holding onto a clipboard while the other was stuffed deep into his pocket. "Lung cancer, I'm afraid. We got your CT scan back, and if you can see this mass here..."

He held out the chart for Lachlan to see, and then handed it off to Vik - whose heart had stopped ever since the word  _cancer_ left the tip of Marten's tongue. Part of him didn't want to look, but he did anyways. Said mass, which was apparently correct size, appeared to be at least three centimeters - near the top of Lachlan's right lung. Suddenly it felt as though the air in the room was thicker, harder to breathe. Vik dared to take a glance at Lachlan, and promptly wished he hadn't. He finally stood up, ignoring the wobbling in his legs the best that he could, to cross the room and hold his fiancee's hand. Lachlan didn't so much as look at him - just took his hand and squeezed it hard. 

"There are a couple options for treatment here. We want to bring you to a place where the tumor is operable. Now, there are no guarantees on anything, but a successful operation gives you an excellent chance of a year. Your chances of five or more years can be greater than fifty percent. If you choose to undergo chemotherapy after your surgery, your chances are even greater. It can also be a preventative so that it's less likely for your cancer to come back, or for another type to develop."

Vik sat in silence, trying his hardest to accept the information and let it sink in, but his head was swimming. He kept his head bent down, not looking at Lachlan or the doctor. His eyes were beginning to burn, but he already had forbidden himself from crying. He knew that, in this situation, he had to be the strong one - he couldn't and wouldn't expect that from Lachlan right now. 

"I don't understand," Lachlan finally murmured, his grip getting so tight on Vik's hand that his knuckles were turning white. "Even if I have the surgery I could die? What exactly is the point, then?"

His voice was so pained that Vik didn't even want to hear it. In fact, he didn't want to be in this situation, period. Part of him was debating turning and walking straight out of the room. The other part, the stronger part, was dedicated to staying with Lachlan. He was being selfish, allowing himself to be so affected with this, when Lachlan was the sick one. 

Doctor Marten looked bleak, to say the least. "Well, if you want the facts, Mr. Power...within a year of being diagnosed, more than half of the population who have lung cancer end up passing. Now, of course, there are factors that can make this number vary. Your odds are strong by comparison to many others - you're young and still in shape. But, again, there are no guarantees."

Lachlan blinked heavily, not missing a beat in his response. "So, I can either get my chest torn into, or get chemo and watch all my hair fall out, but either way - I'm still probably going to  _die_?"

"Lachlan," Vik finally spoke up, an edge seeping into his voice that was much harsher than intended. "That's enough."

Lachlan looked at him was a look of disbelief in his eyes, and Doctor Marten cleared his throat. "I'll leave you two for a moment. Mr. Power, I'll be back soon and we can further discuss your options, okay?"

The door swung shut hard behind him, but beyond that, there was silence in the room. Vik had nothing to say, for once. There was nothing in his mind that could even begin to alleviate the severity of the situation. Nothing that could make Lachlan feel better. In a way, he felt almost useless, and he hated it. He hated knowing that the man that he loved with all of his heart was so sick, and there was fuck-all he could do about it. He reasoned that it was better to let Lachlan take the initiative on the conversation. He didn't yet know the boundaries - what was okay to talk about versus what was not.

Playing with the seams of his hospital gown, Lachlan's voice was weak when it finally came out. "I can't afford that kind of treatment, Vik. What's the point, even? Why waste all that money on something that'll end up killing me?"

"You can't think about it like that," said Vik firmly, grabbing Lachlan's chin with just enough force to make the blonde look at him. "You heard him say that there are no guarantees, and that your chances are good. As far as the costs go...there's gotta be a way. We can't just give up."

The ghost of a smile appeared on Lachlan's face, and he leaned over, allowing his head to rest on Vik's shoulder. "Sometimes I don't know where I'd be without you, ya know?"

The feeling was definitely mutual. 

 

***

 

"That's rough," murmured Simon lowly, his expression very flat and dull after being made aware of the news - and Lachlan's decision to pursue chemotherapy, in an attempt to shrink the tumor before considering surgery. Vik could tell, and understand why it was, that Simon was uncomfortable having this discussion. "I'm so sorry, mate. How's he doing right now?"

Upon return to Vik and Simon's apartment, all Lachlan wanted to do was lay down - so he was currently splayed out on Vik's bed, fast asleep. Vik couldn't blame him. He knew he had to be emotionally and physically overwhelmed after the day's events. Vik was, too, but sleep was the last thing on his mind at the moment. He was hoping that talking to Simon would take his mind off of things, at least for a little while. 

"He's okay," said Vik, twirling around the pasta that Simon had made all over his plate. He was glad that he had this moment to sit down with his best friend and eat, sans partners. He loved Josh, but sometimes he just wanted Simon to himself while he could still have these moments. Soon, Simon would be moved out, and though he swore that nothing would change, Vik knew better. "He's just really tired. The shit that they did for the scan...I feel so bad for him."

Simon nodded quietly, setting his own plate down on the coffee table. "So, um, I was talking to Josh earlier, right? When you texted me everything...I know you didn't ask for it, but...you're my best friend. We want to help you out. With the bills and, with everything, really."

Vik stared and gaped at his best friend. "Mate...you  _really_ don't have to do that. I would never ask that of you and Josh."

"No, seriously. I insist," Simon said, wrapping an arm around Vik's slender shoulders. He had a very soft, genuine look in his glassy blue eyes. "Josh's dad owns the place, as you know. It's really not a big deal and...we want to make this as easy as possible on you and Lachlan."

In lieu of the shitty situation, and how much he tended to rag on Simon, Vik couldn't have asked for a better friend. 

He knew things were going to be bad, and he had prepared for the worst, but having his mates around would make things easier. 


End file.
